Unauthorized viewer detection system and method

Abstract

A system for detecting and responding to an intruding camera. The system includes an electronic media display device having a screen configured to display content, a sensor, and a processing circuit. The processing circuit is configured to obtain information from the sensor, analyze the information to determine a presence of a camera, and edit any displayed content in response to the presence of the camera.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A system comprising:
 an electronic media display device having a screen configured to display content, the displayed content comprising initial content or edited content, wherein the displayed initial content is edited to display the edited content in response to detecting that an intruder can resolve the displayed content; 
 a sensor; and 
 a processing circuit configured to:
 obtain information from the sensor; 
 analyze the information to determine, based on a viewing angle of the intruder, whether the intruder can resolve the displayed content, wherein the viewing angle of the intruder comprises an azimuth component and an elevation component; and 
 reset the displayed edited content to the initial content based on determining that the intruder cannot resolve the displayed content; 
 
 wherein determining that the intruder can resolve the displayed content is based on the elevation component being within an elevation angle threshold. 
 
     
     
       2. The system of  claim 1 , wherein determining whether the intruder can resolve any displayed content includes determining an orientation of the intruder. 
     
     
       3. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the intruder is a camera, and wherein determining whether the camera can resolve any displayed content is based on detecting a lens cap of the camera. 
     
     
       4. The system of  claim 1 , wherein determining whether the intruder can resolve any displayed content is based on a distance of the intruder from the screen. 
     
     
       5. The system of  claim 4 , wherein the distance determination is based upon an angular size of at least a portion of the intruder. 
     
     
       6. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the viewing angle of the intruder is a two dimensional viewing angle. 
     
     
       7. The system of  claim 1 , wherein determining that the intruder can resolve any displayed content is based on the azimuth component being within an azimuth angle threshold. 
     
     
       8. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the initial content comprises content displayed prior to displaying the edited content. 
     
     
       9. A method comprising:
 displaying content comprising initial content or edited content using an electronic media display device having a screen, wherein the displayed initial content is edited to display the edited content in response to detecting that an intruder can resolve the displayed content; 
 obtaining information from a sensor; 
 analyzing the information to determine, based on a viewing angle of the intruder, whether the intruder can resolve the displayed content, wherein the viewing angle of the intruder comprises an azimuth component and an elevation component; and 
 resetting the displayed edited content to the initial content based on determining that the intruder cannot resolve the displayed content; 
 wherein determining that the intruder can resolve the displayed content is based on the elevation component being within an elevation angle threshold. 
 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 9 , further comprising alerting a user of the electronic media display device based on determining that the intruder cannot resolve the displayed content. 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 10 , wherein the alert includes at least one of displaying a flashing content on a portion of the screen and changing a color of a portion of content displayed on the screen. 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 10 , wherein the alert includes displaying a message on the screen. 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 10 , wherein the type of the alert is defined by a setting of the user. 
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 9 , wherein resetting the displayed edited content comprises at least one of turning on the screen, unfreezing the displayed content, adjusting a brightness of the screen, and unmuting any audio. 
     
     
       15. The method of  claim 9 , wherein resetting the displayed edited content comprises enabling a displaying of new content to undo disabling a displaying of new content. 
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 9 , wherein resetting the displayed edited content comprises enabling an ability to receive input from the user to undo temporarily disabling an ability to receive input from the user. 
     
     
       17. The method of  claim 9 , wherein resetting the displayed edited content comprises enhancing the initial content to undo degradation of the initial content. 
     
     
       18. The method of  claim 17 , wherein the enhancing comprises undoing at least one of blurring, dimming, and reducing the size of the initial content. 
     
     
       19. The method of  claim 9 , wherein the intruder comprises a camera, and further comprising distinguishing the camera from an authorized device. 
     
     
       20. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon for execution by a processing circuit, the instructions comprising:
 instructions for interfacing with an electronic media display device having a screen configured to display content, the displayed content comprising initial content or edited content; 
 instructions for obtaining information from a sensor, wherein the information corresponds to an environment of the electronic media display device; 
 instructions for analyzing the information to determine, based on a viewing angle of an intruder, that the intruder cannot resolve the displayed content, wherein the viewing angle of the intruder comprises an azimuth component and an elevation component; 
 instructions for determining that displayed content comprises the edited content displayed in response to a determination that the intruder can resolve the displayed content; and 
 instructions for resetting the displayed edited content to the initial content in response to a determination that the intruder cannot resolve the displayed content and determining that the edited content is being displayed; 
 wherein determining that the intruder can resolve the displayed content is based on the elevation component being within an elevation angle threshold. 
 
     
     
       21. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 20 , wherein the instructions for analyzing the information include instructions to determine an orientation of the intruder. 
     
     
       22. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 20 , further comprising instructions for determining a distance of the intruder from the screen based on the information. 
     
     
       23. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 20 , wherein the instructions for analyzing the information comprise instructions to use externally provided information characterizing the visual performance of the screen. 
     
     
       24. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 20 , wherein the instructions for analyzing the information comprise instructions to use information regarding the content of the displayed content. 
     
     
       25. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 20 , further comprising instructions for determining a visibility envelope of the electronic media display device, and wherein analyzing the information to determine whether the intruder can resolve the displayed content is based on the visibility envelope. 
     
     
       26. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 25 , wherein the visibility envelope is determined based on a brightness of the screen. 
     
     
       27. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 25 , wherein resetting the displayed edited content comprises at least one of turning on the screen, unfreezing the displayed content, adjusting a brightness of the screen, and unmuting any audio. 
     
     
       28. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 25 , further comprising instructions for providing an alert to a user of the electronic media device indicating that the edited content has been reset to the initial content.